THE BRAND

When the distillery was bought in 2002, Andrew Symington called on the services of Iain Henderson, the former director of Laphroaig, for the creation of a second, very peaty malt. Given the name of Ballechin, this second single malt is created using malted barley at 50 ppm phenols, a rate comparable to those of the smokiest malts produced on Islay. Available since 2006, it is sold as a yearly vintage in limited runs of 6,000 bottles. Even more revolutionary than its older sibling, Ballechin is aged entirely in casks that have previously held wine from Burgundy and Madeira.